If Mary’s importance didn’t really exist until the late middle ages at its earliest as some claim, why then does the Proto-Evangelium (sp) of James exist. Regardless of whether or not you believe it is inspired, or if you even feel it is something that should be looked at, the point is, it was written…

If Mary was little more than just a side note in Christianity as many Protestants feel, why then did someone in around 140AD feel the need to write an entire ‘Gospel’ about it?

If she wasn’t important, there would be no need, however, because she was important, someone did feel a need.

Now, there are some key things to think about. If as documented, this was written around 140AD, that would mean that the Ideas listed within the document had to exist prior to this. Since this document is so detailed in the events that took place, that means the details had to be floating around. For these details to be floating around, they had to exist for some time. If these ideas are just ‘inventions’ then these ideas could have formed no later than around 100AD. This way the ideas mentioned would have had time to permeate the culture.

Seems unlikely because this would have been the time when those directly taught by the apostles would have been around and would have corrected problems if this was a problem

So, the question returns, if the views the CC holds about Mary are ‘late bloomers’ in theology and ‘have no basis’, why then is there such a detailed work, so early, on those very things

I think in the beginning during the days of the Early Church, it was very important to preach the Gospel of Jesus to the world and bring salvation to all. As years went on, heresy started to appear in which St. Paul wrote to the Christian community not to teach strange doctrine.

Defining the divinity of Jesus Christ took more importance than Marian one. That is why in 325 AD the Trinity was defined to defend it against the heresy of Arianism. Marian beliefs themselves were a part of divine revelation and are Christ-Centered. If you look at the Immaculate Conception, it is God’s grace that perserve her, if you look at her Assumption, it is merely a preview for us all Christian to taste the beatific vision in heaven. If we persevere to the end, we will be rewarded.

I hope this answer helps, though if it isn’t. Another Catholic will probably will.

first, i agree with you on that we shouldn’t outright accept it because it is not inspired, but that is not the point I am trying to make.

Even if the oldest surviving copy is in the 4th century , Most historians place its writing between 140 - 160 AD.

So, this begs the question…

Why is there a document so early in the life of Christianity talking about the importance of Mary. The validity of the document isn’t the point, but what is interesting about it is the fact it was written at all.

If Mary was not important at all to early Christians, why was such a detailed document written. It would have had no audience, and if the view of Mary back then was the same as the view of Mary by many protestants today, it would have quickly faded…

But it didn’t

(as a note, if the document was written at 140/150 AD, this puts it just prior to Gnosticism. Though some shadows started to show at this time, the heresy didn’t really exist until roughly 200AD, 175 at the earliest